With Trump's Travel Ban On Hold, Minnesota Man Seeks Reunion With Family
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota man is making plans to reunite with his wife and daughters now that President Donald Trump's travel ban is on hold.
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday it would suspend any actions related to the ban on immigrants from seven countries as well as the temporary ban on refugee resettlements.
The move comes after a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order on the president's executive order.
This latest move has caused confusion, not just for families, but also people who work directly with resettling refugees, as well as organizations involved in the Somali community here in Minnesota -- including one family that is hoping to start making their way from overseas to Minnesota Saturday night.
It's been a busy 24 hours for Council on American-Islamic Relations Director Jaylani Hussein.
"Citizens are afraid to travel. People with green cards who have been barred are now allowed, so it's extremely confusing times," Hussein said.
CAIR has been fielding phone calls from students and families abroad asking what the temporary hold on the travel ban means.
"For those people who are already on their way here, we've always been advising them to make every effort to come here," Hussein said.
The halt on the ban is the latest in a polarizing battle over immigration issues that has drawn both criticism and praise here in Minnesota.
There have been several protests since the executive order, and local Twin Cities businesses formed a coalition against it.
"To keep Minneapolis and St. Paul as a safe haven for people of color, race, religion, sexual orientation," said Pizza Nea owner Michael Sherwood.
Attorney Christopher Lee is representing a Minnesota man who is hoping to reunite with his wife and daughters at MSP Airport Sunday.
"He rented a larger space, started buying some kids' clothing, got the car seat ready and all that and then the executive order got put into place," Lee said.
The wife -- who is Somali -- and the children have been waiting to leave Nairobi after she was approved to come to the U.S. on an immigrant visa just one week before the executive order.
"It would be tremendous for our client Mohamed. I know he's waited a long time," Lee said.
"Obviously this is a major success, or a major win, for those people who have been opposing the ban, but yet, the challenge could also be reversed as well," Hussein said.
Lee told WCCO's Kate Raddatz they do believe the wife and two children were able to board a plane out of Nairobi to Amsterdam Saturday night. They then plan to take a flight to arrive in Minneapolis around noon Sunday.
Trump responded to the judge's decision to put the ban on hold, tweeting in part, "Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country."
Trump called it a "terrible decision."
